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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Capturing History: 1 recipe at a time.

Washington Irving School is celebrating it's 100th birthday this year and signs of an impending celebration line the streets and the hall ways of the school.

(Irving School-1910)

Yesterday I had the chance to spend some time looking at a display case filled with artifacts from Irving's long history. I was especially taken with this P-T-A cookbook. I was even allowed to take it out of the case for a moment and page through!

Recipes from the 1930's are as predictable as you'd expect them to be...Swiss Steak, Chicken a la King, Ice Box Biscuits, 7-minute Icing and many more. I was surprised, however, to discover there used to be a movie theater right around the corner! I spent a good deal of time paging through the little book peppered with local advertisements and every one's best recipes. Reading it was like experiencing a little time warp; I would love to have a copy of my own.

Yesterday, I started the process of planning and preparing for my ninth and final staff appreciation lunch at the school. It is a bittersweet feeling to leave behind something I am so proud of building and I had started considering the possibility of turning the nine years of recipes and photos into a hard bound cookbook, gifting one to the school, and making others available to committee members and Irving staff for purchase. I wasn't sure if I should follow through because it would be a lot of work, but after looking back at Irving School in 1930 through a cook-book I realized I would be remiss not to complete the project. Thank goodness I have a willing committee member and friend to help me get it done in time! Capturing history through food and recipes is right up my alley!

3 comments:

So funny you mention the theater at Roosevelt and Ridgeland. That building's facade is still partially in tact and converted into the Atrium Condos. Just the other day we were driving by and John remarked on the unusual size of the building, and I responded it looked like it was probably once a theater. After I saw your photo I recognized it immediately.